Anyone have experience with the Revolution 4-8 PowerBlast kite? I enjoy the Rev B Series kites and watched the owner of the Revolution company buggy with the PowerBlast at IBB this year. He made it look like a good alternative to my foil kites. I'm curious if his skill level allows him to use the PowerBlast so well and that it would not be good for others with lesser skill. Like to know more before I buy.

they are great kites, but they are highly maneuverable just like the B series...but with pull!!!

You definitely have to be good on the kite and the buggy to be successful. I consider myself competent on both but not together in that combination.

In the right hands they perform very very well. They also go upwind like mad. The difficult part (atleast for me) you have to have the perfect balance with the handles to engage all 4 lines. Not enough rear line tension the kite will not produce the power. So its a real balancing act. But they also can be thought of as a de-power also since when you do loosen the rear line tension the power is lost.

My 2 cents are : great design, but not something anyone can pick up and go fly right away. If your willing to put in the time and practice you will be rewarded.

Another thing I am not sure is if you can use a strope and harness in. That would be something to check on.

Dino is right, the balancing act is tough to achieve. If you are not great at the 1.5 rev, dont try the blast in a buggy. Had one years ago and sold it. No strop for this kite.
Its not a buggy kite per say but can be used to buggy with. Umbrellas arnt buggy engines but can be used to buggy with. The blast was designed to buggy with but only for those that have the rev skills to do it. Thats why the 4/8 is not made today.
As with anything else, practice enough with the 4/8 and you will master it.

Well, time to confess. The same thought occurred to me about a year & a half ago. So.. I practiced with my Revs & slowly bought the big ones. My second Rev was a Power Blast 2-4. Thought it might be sort of a light wind kite too. It can be flown in light wind but the Zen I now have is better for that. The 2-4 is a power kite for Rev fliers. It is not a precision flier but can be in the hands of an experienced flier. Got many smiles out of mine & even got a second one to stack just for fun. Have not done that yet. Also got a Rev 1. If you read old buggy fax news letters you'll see them mentioned. It is a pretty big sail too. Finally got a couple used buggies this winter. Could have bought the latest but I like vintage cars so I got vintage buggies instead. Shipping was pricey. Did some buggy baby steps this spring & decided I better not go it alone. So now I will try to meet up with some experienced pilots. Working two jobs had limited my travel & I live in a remote area. Now I have semi-retired. But I digress. The big PB 4-8, which was on my ultimate Rev list, arrived in May, $600, kite only. I have flown Revs for a year & a half. Thought I was ready, not really. Wow! This is a different beast. This sail is 12' long & 4' tall. So it's size is kind of like a four line sheet & one half of plywood. A description of flying it would be another lengthy post. I would really suggest starting with the PB 2-4 to see if you can handle it. The PB 2-4's are traded around quite a bit as they are not for the timid either. Many Rev fliers are not into power kites but their curiosity gets them to try one for a bit. There is enough power to move you in a buggy & give you an idea if you really want to do this. For me it's just a personal goal.

I've got a 4-8... Finding the balance was easy - when it's ripping your out you got it right!!! Bit of a different feel to an normal Rev but very easy to turn on and off.

The 4/8 is still made and in production. It is a specialty kite and usually on an order basis, but we have them in stock. I buggy with all the Rev power series kites, Blast, 2/4 and the monster 4/8. They are excellent buggy engines and produce tons more power than equally sized foil kites. They produce excellent power and are the most controllable power kites on the market. They are indeed designed for buggy use but can be flown statically if wanted. They also produce some of the best upwind capability of any power kite on the market.

They do require some fairly good Rev flying skills to master and are not for the timid flyer. If you only know how to pull left and right, you probably won't like them much.

If you need any further info on the Rev's, let me know and I can tell you whatever you need to know about them.